Getting Paid

I babysit for the most part because I enjoy babysitting and it feels good to be helpful. When I get paid, I think of myself like a teacher, that I'm not getting paid for babysitting, but rather for giving up my time to babysit. So no matter if its a night job or a day job, no matter how many kids, its all the same.

When I was younger I used to always go to my neighbors house and play with the kids, and that was every day for free, I used to go to them Shabbos also and play with the kids. Then as I got older I had less free time, I had more school work to do, and started going to them less. At this point is when I became their babysitter, because I was no longer going on my own, they had to ask me to come. Once they asked me to come they would pay me, it would be called a job. But I enjoyed it the same much as before. I love the kids there, their my favorite family.

Once I became a babysitter, people would ask me how much I charge. I always said just give whatever you want. I didn't have a set price. For everyone it was different. Like with the family I love, I charge them the least. Although now with new people I tell them all the same amount.

For those that pay me on a weekly basis, I keep an excel sheet with the info to keep track of it. I learned from experience, because one time I was babysitting this person an hour here and there and I didn't keep track, I thought she was, and then she asked me how much she owes me and I had no clue. So ever since then I keep track.

Problem is, one time I babysat by someone and then she was gonna write it down and I told her I'll keep track of it, then a month went by and I went to babysit there again, and then she paid me for that second time and she forgot about the 3 hours from the time before. I wasn't sure if I should say anything or not. So I let it go.

Also, now that I keep an excel sheet with how many hours and what people owe, I know the exact amount at the end of the week. So when its time to pay me, they usually don't know how much it is and give me a little extra, so I told the husband when he was paying me that he gave 10 dollars extra, so he said keep the money and to tell his wife. So I told the wife that I think she paid 10 dollars extra, then she says "'babysitter' why do you do this to me?" So after that I didn't correct how much they gave.

Although sometimes, I hear the mothers complaining about paying cleaning ladies, that they don't have money for it. Then I start feeling guilty about them paying me all the time to babysit. But then I reason to myself, if the mother is telling this to me, she obviously doesn't mind paying me.